At the Laureate, CEO pays $21.9M in bulk deal

A U.K.-based CEO of a conglomerate of companies has purchased three units at the Laureate in a bulk deal, Nest Seekers’ Nick Jabbour, the broker who represented the buyer in the deal, confirmed today.

The executive purchased a penthouse and two lower-floor units at the property in a deal valued at a total $21.88 million, Jabbour said. The penthouse at 2150 Broadway, and West 75th Street, traded for $11.55 million, while a five-bedroom spread on the 14th floor closed for $8.8 million and a one-bedroom unit on the 11th floor sold for $1.53 million, public records show. The latter two units closed for less than their asking prices, which were $10.5 million and $1.82 million respectively.

The buyer will not personally use the properties, which were purchased as an investment, Jabbour said.

Shlomi Reuveni of Brown Harris Stevens Select represented the sponsor, the Stahl Organization, in the transaction. Reuveni did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Selling packages of condo units at slightly discounted prices to buyers willing to buy multiple units was common practice during the recession, but has become more unusual as the luxury market has built momentum in the last year.

The Laureate, designed by SLCE Architects and Deborah Berke & Partners Architects, has not needed to compromise on pricing thus far: It reached 85 percent sold just months after launching sales in March. In April, it was dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as the “top-selling new luxury condo” in Manhattan.

“It’s relatively common for foreign investors to acquire multiple units in the same building, especially from the sponsor directly,” Jabbour said. “After identifying a product that aligns with their investment goals, the availability of these units makes it relatively easy to select a number of units that align with the amount they’re seeking to put into New York real estate.”

According to Streeteasy.com, there are now only two units remaining at the 71-unit Laureate. Both penthouses, they are available separately for $12.17 million and $11.08 million or together for $23.26 million.

As The Real Deal previously reported, one of the building’s other penthouses was purchased in December by Maurice Mann, the original developer of the Apthorp condominium conversion. Mann paid just over $7 million for the property, records show.